The survivors swarm around us, a shield of chattering, twitching energy.
I lose sight of Knox and Shade.
‘Halley? Don’t move, we’ll get you out,’Shade calls.
"That Alpha. That one right there." Maddie juts a finger at Prime Alpha Zero. "I recognize him. I'd know him anywhere. He's the one that came to our village and took my brothers away. He lied about giving us rations and left us to starve to death. He’s a murderer."
I risk a glance at the Alpha in question. His eyes are wide with shock, a rare show of emotion.
It can't be true because the Prime Alpha Zero I know is honorable. He’s helping me find Ember. He left the Fathim military, everything he knew, to dedicate himself to helping thousands of survivors find safety. I know how hard that must have been for a Prime Alpha to do.
He’s agoodperson.
I stare at him, willing him to deny her words.
His gaze shifts to mine, and the truth is written all over his face, a dark, heavy weight of guilt and shame that I can't ignore.
Maddie isn't lying. Prime Alpha Zero is the monster who ruined her life. And he's standing right here.
Zero holds up his hands.
"I’m so sorry. I was following orders," he says, his voice hoarse. "When I discovered what happened to the villages I recruited from, I left my post, took as many enlisted soldiers as I could and defected. I’m here to make up for the hurt I’ve caused."
I realize now that his stoicism isn’t because he’s hiding his emotions due to duty. It’s because they’re busy eating him alive from the inside out.
"Bullshit," Maddie snarls, pressing the gun harder. I swallow my gasp. “You defected because you didn’t want to go to war to defend us from the Human invasion. You're scum, and you deserve to die. But you won't die, will you? You Alphas are like fucking cockroaches. So unless you give me what I want, I'll kill her instead.”
She taps the gun against my temple twice, and a whimper slips from my lips.
I hear Knox snarl, even over the shouts of anger, and I know he’s coming to get me.
‘Knox! Don't do it,’I plead, but he can’t hear me.
To save me, the Pack will have to hurt the swarming Beta civilians. I can feel it through our bond. Right now they do not give a rutting damn about anyone else. All they see is their Omega in danger, and their focus is razor-sharp on getting me out, no matter the cost.
But I can’t justify my life for the sake of others.
I can almost feel the pain radiating from Maddie in unsteady waves, scraping against me. Her grip on the weapon is white-knuckled, tendons straining under pale skin. Sweat drips from her temple and slides along her jaw before disappearing into the stained collar of her shirt.
Maddie is desperate. A woman with nothing left to lose. I know without question she will pull the trigger if she feels slighted, and she will not care what comes after. Death would be a release for her.
There has to be another way for us both to survive.
‘Please. Please. Please,’Shade’s inner voice is distant, drowned out by the Packs’ combined surging emotions.
Through the crowd, my eyes catch a glimpse of Viper, and I flinch as I recognize the veins creeping along the side of his wild eyes.
Blood Lust.
'Viper? Big guy, calm down.'Our connection is filled with nothing but static.
I know in my heart if I die today, Viper will plunge into Blood Lust and only a bullet between his eyes will stop the slaughter. Knox will hold a grudge against every Beta civilian, finding any excuse to make them pay for my death, and loyal Shade will be beside his Prime all the way. And Blaze…Blaze will kill his sweet other half, Blaise, and become something worse than a nightmare.
I stay perfectly still, too afraid to shift in case the knife at my back slips in the Beta’s unsteady grip.
I have to fix this, but every option feels like a gamble. Using any of my abilities is too risky.
Perfume is out. Maddie has already proven that it only sends her into a rage.
